Temporary orders from the Cypriot court have prohibited SayGames from distributing and monetizing Race Master 3D, which was developed by Beresnev Games

On the website of the Cyprus Lawyers Association, App2Top found documents regarding a legal dispute between the gaming companies Beresnev Games and SayGames. According to the documents, the development studio demanded the court prohibit the publisher from distributing and monetizing its game. The editorial team interviewed the founder of the studio, Oleg Beresnev, about the situation.

Before we start the interview — a few brief remarks.

The first. The document has been publicly available in Greek since October. It's a small but complex paper that represents a chronology of mutual disagreements in the vein of "the plaintiff stated one thing, while the defendant's lawyer referenced another."

The second. The document indicates that the court issued an interim order prohibiting SayGames from distributing and monetizing the game called Race Master 3D — Car Racing. Additionally, the publisher was instructed to hand over control of the game, as well as its code and databases to Beresnev Games.

The third. Although the timing makes it difficult to call this news or even a current event, we felt it was important to write about it. After all, disagreements between publishers and developers don't happen often. 

Oleg Beresnev

Alexander Semenov, App2Top: Let's start with some simple questions. What exactly is going on? Are Beresnev Games and SayGames in a lawsuit? Why?

Oleg Beresnev, Beresnev Games: Alex, I’ll start with a bit of background. Beresnev Games decided to terminate the licensing agreement for the Race Master 3D project. According to the contract, we had the right to terminate the license on mobile platforms by notifying the publisher three months before termination. We notified SayGames on July 22, 2024. Thus, the license expired on October 22, 2024. However, a week before the license expiration, on October 15, 2024, SayGames filed a lawsuit against us in a Cypriot court.

Hold on, let's pause here for a second. The subject of the dispute is Race Master 3D. Do I understand correctly that Beresnev Games developed this game and SayGames was the publisher for several years?

Oleg: Yes, we created the game in 2021, tested it for several months, and then signed a publishing agreement with SayGames, transferring the project to their account along with our Bundle ID and all users. At the time of transfer, the project had tens of thousands of users, with a large percentage of organic growth.

Got it, that's a bit clearer. So, SayGames files a lawsuit against you. What was their reasoning?

Oleg: The lawsuit did not contain any specifics, but simply listed the demands made to the court, including:

• to declare our notice of termination invalid;
• to declare that the licensing agreement remains in force;
• to recognize that the game's user base belongs to SayGames;
• to compensate for losses — all the funds SayGames invested in the game.

What happened next?

Oleg: Recognizing the severity of the situation and not receiving any answers from the SayGames founders with whom we had been in communication, we promptly turned to the court, which issued temporary court orders in our defense.

What are these orders?

Oleg: Speaking in legal terms, from the termination of the license, they prohibited SayGames from distributing, publishing, reproducing, using, copying, modifying, or monetizing the game Race Master 3D (including its clones and copies), as well as from using user databases.

SayGames was also prohibited from developing, producing, or distributing clones of Race Master 3D and any similar games until a final decision in the case was made.

Importantly, SayGames was required within 24 hours of receiving our written notification to take all necessary actions to ensure the seamless transfer of the game Race Master 3D, including user databases and registered trademarks, to the accounts we specified to ensure uninterrupted distribution and monetization of the game on our end.

Please clarify another point: why are the orders called temporary?

Oleg: Part of the legal process that occurred in the fall involved the issuance of urgent court orders to protect our rights, rather than a final consideration of the case.

Understood. So, moving towards the final question: six months have passed. Considering that Race Master 3D is now operated under the Beresnev Games account, can it be said that SayGames has complied with the court's orders?

Oleg: Immediately after the court decision was served by the bailiff, instead of transferring the project to us as the court order required, SayGames simply removed the game from their store accounts, as we were personally informed by the company's CEO in chat, wishing us a nice day. Simultaneously, SayGames published a clone of the game Race Master 3D under the name NRG from their account.

Wow, it seems that was done contrary to the court's orders. How long did that last?

Oleg: NRG was removed the same evening it appeared.

As for Race Master 3D, the game was transferred to our account only 14 days after the order.

Was the conflict resolved then?

Oleg: Unfortunately, the conflict has not been resolved, and the story continues, including with respect to our other projects.

Got it. Well, all I can do is wish you the best of luck.